1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a trigger sprayer which is connectable to two container volumes containing separate liquids. The sprayer has a trigger that is manipulated to draw the separate liquids into two separate pump chambers and then supply the two separate liquids from the pump chambers to a discharge passage of the sprayer. In the discharge passage the two separate liquids are mixed together prior to their being dispensed from the discharge passage as a spray.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trigger sprayers are those types of sprayers having pivoting triggers that are manually manipulated to dispense liquids from the sprayers. A typical trigger sprayer is connected to a liquid container for dispensing the contents of the container as a spray, stream, or foam in response to manual reciprocation of the trigger. This type of trigger sprayer has been employed in the past in dispensing various different types of liquids from containers to which the trigger sprayers have been attached. However, the conventional trigger sprayer has drawbacks when employed with certain types of liquids.
Certain liquids dispensed from conventional trigger sprayers are the product of two or more separate component liquids that remain stable while separated but have a limited shelf life when they are mixed together. Trigger sprayers attached to containers containing liquids of this type cannot remain in storage or on a store shelf for a prolonged period of time before the liquid product begins to lose its effectiveness. To employ conventional trigger sprayers for dispensing liquids of this type and to ensure that the shelf life of the liquid product does not expire before the product is sold, the separate liquid components of the final liquid product must be mixed together to produce the final liquid product Just prior to the liquid product being packaged in the containers and shipped to the market where they are offered for sale.
In addition, some liquid products are comprised of one or more component liquids that do not readily mix with each other, for example, water and oil. When liquid products of this type are packaged in containers with trigger sprayers, the separate liquid components that make up the final product tend to separate from each other while the product is stored in inventory or while the product sits on a store shelf awaiting sale. In use of a conventional sprayer containing a product of this type, after the component liquids of the final product had separated out, operation of the trigger sprayer would result in dispensing only that liquid component that had settled to the bottom of the container. In the oil and water example, only the water component of the liquid would be dispensed initially from the sprayer. Once all of the water had been dispensed, then only oil would be dispensed from the sprayer.
Various multiple-compartment trigger sprayers have been designed to overcome the problems associated with the conventional trigger sprayer employed in dispensing liquid products having limited shelf life and/or components that tend to separate from each other over time. These new designs include trigger sprayers that are attached to liquid containers that keep the component parts of a liquid product separate from each other until they are drawn from the containers by the trigger sprayers. Trigger sprayers of this type include sprayers that mix the separate component parts of a liquid product for the first time in the pump chambers of the sprayers prior to their being dispensed. However, even these newer designs of trigger sprayers have drawbacks. Once the trigger sprayer pump chamber is primed with the two components of the final liquid product, as the trigger sprayer sits between uses the shelf life of the liquid product in the pump chamber could expire. Also, the separate liquid components of the final product could separate from each other in the sprayer pump chamber. As a result, the next time the trigger sprayer is operated, the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be that contained in the pump chamber. This liquid could have an expired shelf life or separated component liquids. In either situation, the quality of the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be less than that expected.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with prior art trigger sprayers employed in dispensing liquids comprised of at least two separate component liquids. The trigger sprayer of the present invention keeps the two component liquids separate from each other until they are mixed together for the first time in the discharge passage of the sprayer just prior to their being dispensed from the sprayer. Thus, the problems of expired shelf life and/or separation of component liquids in the container or trigger sprayer are avoided.